Fuse



D. A. PISTORIO.

FUSE.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. I, EH5.

Patented Mar. 16, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

m 'zf D. A. PISTORIO.

FUSE.

Patented Mar. 16, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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FUSE- APPLICATIO H 0C T. I,1915. 1,333,777. Patented Mar. 16, 1920. I v a ssssssssssss a.

I V V 70 gnu t MN MW iiw 7% y WW $0464 1? 7 DOMINGQ A. PISTQRIO, OF \VltSHINGTON, DISTRICT OF niir FFfQE.

COLUMBIA.

Fuss.

sssmr.

"Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 16, 1928.

Application filed October 1, 1915. Serial No. 53,590..

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, DOMINGO A. Prsrouio, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of lVashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fuses, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to ordnance and particularly to firing pins for projectiles adapted to operate when the projectile strikes annloj-ect.

An object of this invention is to provide with which it coacts to fire the charge, noveljmeans being also provided for releasing the said firing p111 to permit its operation upon {impact of the projectile and the movement of the hammer or plunger, due to such irnpartly in section therein;

pact.

'A still further object of this invention 15 to provide means for guarding the firing pin against movement, said guafr'di'ng means being operated icy centrifugal force when "the projectile is in motion after being fired from a gun so that the said firing pin may move toward the fulminatin cap under the influence of a s ring, such provision heing inade so that when the centrifugal force has operated to release the firing pin, it may be retained in released position until the proj ectile h'its.

A still further object of this invention is to provide inea 'ns for adjusting the position of the fulniina tingcap with relation to the firing pin and to retain the said cap in pr'oper relation to. the firing pin.

Furthermore; an ob ect of this nvention is to provide means for ignltmg the explosive charge o'fj-a projectile and for so timing it that the ignition will bedelayed a predetermined time after the said projectile has struck an object, the ,purpo's'e'heing to permit the projectile to penetrate *the object to insure the explosion of the proj'ecti'le on the inside rather than 'on the outside of the mark.

to those parts which will release the "firing pin and cause it to move Initially toinsure line '1212 of Fig. 11-;

face plate.

its operation when struck by the plunger I or hammer and the'ineans for retaining it in .its released position, even though the rotav fully set forth and claimed. novel means for retaining the firing pin ofa In describing the invention in detail, refrence will he had to the accompanying lrawings forming part of thisspecification wherein like characters denote correspondng parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 illustrates a longitudinal sectional View of a fuse casing with the for firing the fuse partly in elevation line H of Fig. 1;

F 5 illustrates a sectional View line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 illustrates a sectional view line 6*6-of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 7 illustrates a long itulinal sectional; view showing means for delaying the firing on the or the projectile";

Fig. 8' illustrates 'a face View of the soap holder; F1gf9'1llustrates a sectional view showin I the cap and holder in a slightly inodifie 1 form; I

10 illustrates a fragment ofthefiring pin and guards indifferent positions .as compared withthe illustration in Fig/ 1;

Fig. 11 illustrates a sectional view of the fuse, embracing a modified construction with the. firing pin in position just before the hammeroperatcs the pin Fig. 12 illustrates a sectional view on the Fig. 13 illustrates a sectional viow on tho line 12 12 of Fig. fl-with partsin different ustinents Fig. 14' lllustrates a view inelevationof on the nut is operative to hold parts of the device assembled. \Vithin that portion ofthe bore of the casing having the smallest diameter 18 v a lun er or hammer 16 which is ada ted to move longitudinally of the casing upon impact of the projectile and in order to insure free movement of this hammer or plunger 16 (which element will be hereinafter referred to as a han'nner) it is grooved longitudinally as shown at 17 so that as it travels in the casing, air may pass through these grooves and prevent cushioning of the hammer. v

The firing pin comprises a head 18 which is struck by the hammer, a stem 19 and a. body 20 from which the pins 21 project, it being understood that thenumber of firing pins may be increased or diminishedaccording to requirements and for the purpose of illustration, three firing pins are here shown. Intermediate the length of the body, there is a shoulder 22 forming an abutment for a spring 23 which spring encircles a portion of the body and has a bearing on the shoulder 21 formed in the housing 25 for the firing pin.

In the construction of the housing for the firing pin, a plate 25 is secured to one end of the said housing and the sald plate has an aperture 26 in which the head 1s shdablc and in which it is guided, the said plate being secured to the housing by fastenings such as screws 26. The housing is furthermore provided with a radially extending channel 27 in which cups 28 are stationed, the said cups being held in place by a sleeve 29 which encircles a portion of the housing of the firing pin, as fully shown in the drawing.

Vithin the radial channel there are guards 30, here shown as having central recesses 31 to receive the cups 28 so that the said guards may move outwardly with relation to the cups and telescope them when centrifugal force, due to the rotation of the projectile acts to impart movement to the said guards. The guards are, however, held near the center of the casing by springs 32 seated in the cups and in the recesses of the guards, but the tension of these springs is readily overcome by the centrifugal force and they,

therefore, move outward and clear the shoulder of the head 18 to permit the spring 23 to move the said head longitrulinally of the casing in the path of travel of the guards should sa d guards havea tendency to return to their normal positions by reason of discontinuance of the exercise of the centrifugal force. If the said guards move inwardly under the influence of the springs, they would engage side surfaces of the head and wouldbe held in that position until the firing pin has been actuated to strike the cap. In order to insure free movement of the guards, each has an aperture 33 so that air may pass therethrough to prevent cushioning of the said guards, and the faces of the said guards are concaved as shown at 34 to form seats for the shank of the firing pin and to insure clearance of the head of the firing pin.

The cap sockets 35 are formed in a plate 36 secured within the casing by the ring nut 15, which ring nut bears against one side near its edgeand holds it in intermediate relation with the housing of the firing pin. The plate has apertures 37 which extend through the said plate and merge with the cap sockets and the inner face of the said plate 36 has an angular seat 38 in which a disk 39 is held, the said disk 39 serving to retain the caps in their sockets. Thedisk is held between the plate 36 and the housing of the firing pin and it may be penetrated firing pin, the plate 36 ha ribs 41 on one of its faces, which lie in slots 0r recesses42 formed in the outer face of the firing pin housing. I

A modificationof the cap holding plate is shown in Fig. 9, the same comprising a plate 45 having threaded apertures 46 in which apertured plugs 47 are threaded, the apertures being designed for the reception of shanks of the caps 48 and the said apertures form ways through which the flame reaches the charge. The plate 45 is in other respects of the same construction as the plate 36 and further detailed description thereof is believed to be unnecessary.

The inner end of the fuse casing is provided with a disk or plate 49 which holds the explosive 50, which is ignited by the caps, it being understood that the charge 50 is utilized for igniting the charge contained in the projectile. I

As a means for delaying the ignition of the explosive in the projectile, the device shown in Fig. 7 is employed, the same comprising a casing 51 threaded as at 52 to enter the projectile and it is the purpose of the inventor that this casing 51 be made of such appropriate length as to increase or diminish the time between the impact of the projectile and the firing of the charge. The casing may, therefore, be made to extend a greater or less distaneeihto the projectile as" the requirements of practice may demand which carries the cap 57 is held in place by a' ring nut- '54 and the charge 5 5 is likewise held in place by a disk '56. It is obvious from an inspection of the drawing and from the foregoing description that the plate 53 may contain any number of caps 57 for it is desired to insure against defects in the operation of one or more. igniting devices. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, however, the showing in Fig. 7 is believed to be sufficient, as one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that these parts may be duplicated.

Within the casing 51 there is a spacing sleeve 58 which has one end bearing against the cap plate 53 and the opposite end bearing against a cartridge holding plate 59. Between the cap plate 53' and the cartridge holding plate 59, there is a perforated guiding tube 60 in which a projectile from the cartridge 61 will pass to the cap 57. The means for exploding the cartridge preferably comprises the structure heretofore described for exploding the caps of the fuse, particularly shown 1n Figs. 1 and 2, and only a fragment of that mechanism is illustrated in connection with the delayed firing device, but it will be apparent that if the hammer 62 strikes the head 63 of the firing pin, the said firing pin will strike the cartridge and explode the same, it being understood that the centrifugally operated guards 67 will be employed and operated in the manner heretofore described. The head 63 has a leaf spring 64, which leaf spring lies in a recess 65 of the head and the said spring is anchored or secured to one end of the casing as at 66. The action of this spring is to force the head inwardly when the guards 67 move to release the head.

It will be seen that the wall of the casing tapers and the depth of the thread is graduated by being reduced in depth toward the thin end of the casing, this b ing for the purpose of maintaining the strength of the wall of the casing uniform practically throughout its length.

In the modified construction shown in 'Figs. 11, 12, 13 and l t, the casing 68 and housing 69 are of the construction heretofore described, but in the present embodiment of the invention, the guards 70 are slidable in the channel 71 formed in the housing and a conical spring 72 having a base of a diameter approximately the diameter of the channel is applied to the channel with the base of the spring lying against the sleeve 73. The guards 7 0 have their outer faces provided with concavities 7 the walls of which are tapered approximately to the taper of the s'prii'lgs when compress-led so that the said springs will nest in the cnncavities when the guards move radially. The guards have central apertures" 75 to permit the air to escape therethrough and each concavity furthermore constitutes a seat for the end 76 of the spring so that the spring is held in proper position while the guard with relation to it. in this construction, the face plate 77 has a slot 78 therein and the head 79 of the firing pin has a 'transve ely disposed guiding pin 80 therein which travf els in the slot of the pin 7 8 and in a slot formed in the housing. The guiding pin 80v is loosely appliedto the head so that it may be inserted or removed.

in Fig. 12, I show the firing pin after it has been released by the guards and when it has been moved by a spring 81 so that the spurs 82 are approximately in contact with the disk 83 which guards the caps 84. The remainder of the fuse is of the construction heretofore described and further detailed description thereof will be unnecessary.

he number of firing pins increases the etiiciency of the fuse and guards against defects of the caps so that if one or more of the caps are not exploded, one or more of the other caps will be effective to fire the charge.

By this means, caps from different localities may be employed so that if the caps of one locality had been tampered with, those from other localities when employed in the manufacture of the fuse would produce the de sired result.

1. In a fuse, a casing, a housing therein having transversely disposed ways, guards in the ways, cups with relation to which the guards telescope, springs interposed between the cups and the guards, salt guards having openings therein for the passage .of air, a firing pin slidable in the housing, the said firing pin having a head engaged by the guards to prevent movement of the firing pin, said guards being moved by centrifugal force to release the firing pin, means for imparting initial movement to the firing pin to prevent resetting of the guards, means for holding caps in front of the firing pin, and means for operating the firing pin upon impact of a projectile.

2. In a fuse, a casing, a housing therein having transversely disposed ways, guards in the ways, cups with relation to which the guards telescope, springs interposed between the cups and the guards, said guards having openings therein for the passage of air, a firing pin slidable in the housing, the said firing pin having ahead engaged by the guards to prevent movement of the firing pin, said guards being moved by centrifugal force to release the firing pin, means for imparting initial movement to the firing pin to prevent resetting of the guards, a plate having seats for caps, a disk'on the plate for holding the caps in place, means for holding the plate With the caps in position to be exploded by the firing pin, and means for operating the firing pin upon impact of a projectile.

3. In a fuse, a casing, a housing therein having radial channels, and an aperture at right angles thereto, a firing pin comprising a head, shank and body, a plate on the h0us ing having an aperture in which the head. of the firing pin is slidable, a spring interposed between the body of the firing pin and one Wall of the housing, guards slidable in the channels, means for holding the guards normally in engagement with the head of the firing pin, said guards being movable by centrifugal force to release the firing pin, a plate having seats for caps, a disk on the plate for holding the caps in place, means for holding the plate With the caps in position to be exploded by thefiring pin, and means for operating the firing pin upon impact of a projectile. In testimony whereof, I affix my signature inthe presence of two itnesses.

DOMINGO A. PISTORIO.

Witnesses: I v

J OHN HICKEY, MARGARET LPFEIFER. 

